Vanity case



July 22, 1947. ow 2,424,432

' VANITY CASE Filed Oct. 20; 1945 FIE, 2-

INVENTOR.

' FIE. E. EZ RQBWE Q Patented July 22, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VANITY oasr:

Richard Bower, Flushing, N. Y. Application October 20, 1945, Serial No. 623,599

1 Claim. 1

This. invention relates to vanity casesor the like, and aims to provide an electrically operated and controlled light means in combination therewith, so that the face of the user is lit up for refiection in the mirror of the case, appropriate switch means being provided. for turning the i1- lumination on or off at will. With this improvement the user may readily use the mirror atnight or in the dark as well as in an illuminated environment or in the day time.

Another object of the invention is the provision of the vanity case with the above-mentioned improvement in such a manner that the article will be simple in construction and use as well as inexpensive in cost of manufacture.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the following description, wherein characters of reference refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended for the purpose of illustration only, and that it is neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to the specific details of construction shown excepting insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the improved vanity case.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with parts of the cover broken away.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3i-t of Fig. 2.

Fig. i is a cross-sectional view taken on the line t-t of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a'fragmentary enlargement of the lefthand end of Fig. 3, showing the screw thread engagement of the cap with the body of the light holder.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral it indicates a case or housing having the base it and the cover ithinged thereto at l3. The inside of the cover l2, shown at Ila, may be provided with either a highly polished surface to provide a mirror, or with a glass mirror, both of which are common in the manufacture of vanity cases. At the front end M of the case, a tube or barrel I5 is rigidly mounted in the base l i, and at a point intermediate its length and at the top, an opening it is provided through the tube. Within the tube l5 and close fitting against the walls thereof, or fixed thereto by any means, not shown, is a similar tube I! of insulating material, such as, for example, fiber, having an opening l8 therethrough coincident with the opening l6 of the barrel I5.

Mil-6.45)

One end IQ of the barrel I5 is sealed, and the other end 20 is open and provided with external raised screw threads 2|. A flanged cap 22 provided with grooved screw threads 23 is adapted to close the end 2|] of the barrel l5 and, by means of the threaded engagement mentioned, to be advanced or moved outward with respect to the barrel. A boss 24 extending axially from the inside of the cap 22 projects inward for a distance into the barrel IS. A shutter in the form of a sleeve 25 rotatably and slidably mounted on the barrel i5 is provided with an opening 26 therethrough, and it is apparent that this shutter permits of variation in the degree of passage through the openings i6 and I8.

Slidably mounted within the barrel l5 are a pair of battery cells 21! and 28, the terminal 29 of the latter normally being urged against the sealed end I9 of the barrel. The cell 2! lies near the open end 20 of the barrel. Adjacent the bare bottom or terminal of the cell 28, is a spider 30 having an axial socket receptive of an electric light bulb 3i and provided with the longitudinal fingers 32 whose extremities are adapted to engage the said bare bottom terminal of the cell 28. A coiled spring 33 surrounds the tip terminal 34 of the cell it and the tip terminal 35 of the bulb it, normally urging the cell 2i and the bulb apart.

When the cap 212 is screwed down on the barrel it, it urges the cell 2? to compress the spring it until the cell terminal M- contacts the bulb terminal 35. The barrel l5 including its sealed end It, and the cap 22 including its boss M, are made of metallic or conducting material. It is thus obvious, without the need of a wiringdiagram, that when the terminals M and 35 are thus brought together, the electric circuit is closed in series through both cells and the bulb and ground, thereby energizing the light bulb which throws its rays upward through the openings l8, l6, and 26. In other words, the bulb is energized by turning thecap 22 in one direction, and deenergized by turning the cap in the opposite direction: thus a very simple switch means is provided for the bulb. The arrangement of the cells with the light bulb between them permits of situating the source of illumination, in a simple manner, at or near the middle of the barrel l5, which is desirable for the purpose mentioned.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

' I claim:

A housing including a tubular barrel having one end sealed and the other end open, said barrel having an opening through the topthereof intermediate its length, a battery cell slidably mounted in said barrel with one terminal thereof adjacent said sealed end, a second battery cell slidably mounted in said barrel with one terminal end thereof adjacent said open end, a spider slidably mounted between said cells and a coiled spring slidably mounted between said spider and one of said cells, said spider having a bulb receiving socket therein adapted to have a light bulb secured therein, a screw cap covering said open end of the barrel, said barrel, said cap, said spring and said spider being of conducting material, said spider having longitudinal fingers cal tube rotatably mounted thereon intermediate the length of said barrel and surrounding said barrel opening, said tube having an opening therethrough of substantially the dimensions of said barrel opening and being adapted by rotation of said tube to vary the degree of illumination emanating from said bulb through said barrel, opening.

RICHARD BOWER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain 1937 

